All posts tagged Nubia

Now that the iPhone is available through China Mobile, Apple’s sales may get a boost in China. But Chinese smartphone makers are trying to fight back by ramping up grassroots marketing on domestic social networks such as Sina’s Twitter-like Weibo microblog and Tencent Holdings’ WeChat mobile messaging service.

One example of such efforts is Nubia, a smartphone brand launched by major Chinese handset maker ZTE in 2012. Nubia, a wholly owned unit of ZTE, sells its phones through online channels such as Chinese e-commerce site JD.com. In December, ZTE said that Nubia had received 2.5 million orders on JD.com for its Z5S and Z5S Mini smartphones, after their November launch. ZTE says the Nubia business is profitable, but it doesn’t disclose the unit’s earnings figures.

Nubia’s marketing strategy is centered on the Internet and social media. It has used some of the feedback from consumers online to design the software and user interface for its latest smartphones. Read More »